LUKE 3:31-33 GENEALOGY OF JESUS: WHAT’S IN A NAME? – PART 2

LUKE 3:31-33

GENEALOGY OF JESUS:

WHAT’S IN A NAME? – PART 2

Susie: We now continue with Luke’s genealogy of Jesus through His mother, Mary. Why? Because many people skip the genealogies, and we do not like to skip anything. In this section, we will find some more familiar names.

Luke 3:31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

Susan: Melea means “fullness.” Menan or Menna means “consoling or comforting.” Mattatha means “a gift,” and he was the grandson of King David. Nathan means “He hath given,” and he was the third son of David.

Susie: Nathan is listed as having been born to David in Jerusalem, in other words, after he began to reign as king (2 Sam. 5:14; 1 Chron. 3:5; 14:4). Nathan (in Mary’s lineage) was born before Solomon who is listed in Joseph’s lineage found in Matthew chapter one.

Susan: David means “beloved,” a man whom the Lord called “a man after my own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

Susie: He is the man God chose to replace Israel’s first king, Saul, after Saul had sinned against God. He is known as a shepherd, a giant slayer, a warrior, a beloved friend of Jonathan (Saul’s son), and a mighty king.

Susan: The Messiah would be a descendant of David and heir to his throne:

2 Samuel 7:12-13 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Susie: King David was aging and expressed a desire to build a temple for God. However, through Nathan the prophet, God let him know that he was not the one to build the temple. His son, Solomon, would have that privilege. God promised that David’s kingly line would pass on to his descendants.

Susan: As we have seen, Jesus’s earthly lineage shows he was descended from David through Solomon on Joseph’s side and Nathan on Mary’s side of the family. No human except the God-man, the Messiah, could live forever. The throne would pass to the Messiah, Jesus, whose kingdom would never end.

Luke 3:32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

Susan: Jesse means “wealthy-Jehovah exists.” He was indeed wealthy because Jehovah had blessed him. He had eight sons all together of which David was the youngest. David was in charge of his father’s sheep. Jesse was the son of Obed which means “worshiper or a servant who worships.”

Susie: Obed’s mother was Ruth the Moabite who followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel after the death of their husbands. She converted to Judaism and married Boaz.

Susan: Booz or Boaz, meaning “swift,” was the kinsman-redeemer or close male relative of Naomi’s husband and son. He entered into a levirate marriage with Ruth in order to produce offspring for his deceased relative’s family and redeem their land for the widows.

Ruth 2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

Susie: Boaz’s parents were Rahab and Salmon whose name means “peaceable.” You may remember that Rahab was the Canaanite woman in Jericho who hid the Jewish spies sent out by Joshua.

Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Susan: Salmon’s father was Naasson meaning “enchanter or serpent of the sun.” Yuck, that name makes me want to take a shower.

Luke 3:33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares (Perez), which was the son of Juda,

Susan: Aminadab means “the kinsman is generous,” an interesting name; but scripture does not tell us why he was named thus. Aram, sometimes Arni or Ram, means “high or elevated.” Esrom means “dart of joy, division of a song.” Phares or Perez means “breach or rupture.”

Susie: Phares (Perez) was the son of Judah by his Canaanite daughter-in-law, Tamar, who tricked him into thinking she was a prostitute in order to bear a child. Phares was the younger twin because his brother stuck his arm out of the womb first, but Phares traded places with him and was born first (Genesis 38:29).  Much later, in the book of Ruth, when the people find out that Boaz is serving as kinsman-redeemer to marry Ruth and produce offspring for her late husband (levirate marriage), they bless him in the following way:

Ruth 4:12 (KJV) And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.

Susan: Juda or Judah means “praised or the Praised one. Prophesy said that the Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah.

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Susie: The scepter was a symbol of power and authority for either a tribal leader like Judah or the kings which would descend from him, including the Messiah.

Susan: Shiloh is a coded reference to the Messiah and may derive from a word meaning “peace-maker.” Jesus was the Prince of Peace, the very source of our peace.

Ponder this: Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David and thus Abraham. There were many people of great faith in their lineage. Will your descendants look back and say that their grandmother or grandfather was a godly person, a person after God’s own heart? Ask yourself if you are leaving a heritage of faith for the ones who follow you, whether your physical descendants or your spiritual descendants.